Heartcrushing
by LukeandLorelai4ever47
Summary: Booth hasn't seen or heard from Bones in over five years. What will happen when he's forced to reunite with her? And she's forced to confront the person she abandoned? Chapter 12 is up!
1. Chapter 1

It had been five years. Five years, two weeks, four days, six hours to be exact since Seeley Booth had seen, spoken to, or heard from Temperance Brennan.

It had been a shocking day when Booth had turned in his job transfer request. It was shocking that he would even consider leaving his Bones. This was a man who had taken a bullet for her, raced against the clock while she was buried alive, and held her in her weakest moments. It always seemed that nothing, and no one, could ever come between them.

Things are not always as they appear.

In a moment of weakness, assisted by large quantities alcohol, they had crossed the line that Booth has so clearly drawn between them years before. It wasn't just a slip up; it was an all road blocks down, no protection, not even a thought to it, kind of moment.

That's when it happened.

_Booth, we need to talk._

_Whatever it is Bones, you can tell me. I mean, it's just me. _

_I've never been very good at being subtle, so I'm just going to tell you. I'm pregnant._

_You're pregnant? Are, are you sure?_

_Positive. I went to my doctor to confirm the results of the home test. And I'd like to just get it out of the way now, we're not going to get married and this doesn't change our relationship. We both agreed that after that night, we should just go back to the way things were. It was a mistake. _

_I didn't agree, you told me I agreed._

_Well, I also think you should know that I don't intend on keeping it. I'm not having an abortion or anything of that nature, but I've already spoken to an adoption agency, and they are very willing to work with me, so…_

_You're just going to give the baby up? You don't even want to consider keeping it?_

_I have considered it. And I've decided against it. This is for the best, Booth._

_Don't I have to agree to this arraignment too? Or do you just get to make all the decisions?_

_Of course you have to agree, that's why I'm telling you. I'll be needing you to sign some forms releasing your parental rights and allowing the adoption process to go forward._

_What if I don't agree?_

_Please don't make this anymore difficult than it already is Booth._

_What if I take it?_

_You're going to raise the child by yourself? Our child?_

_You've made it pretty clear that you don't particularly care who raises OUR baby. You're willing to give it up for adoption, so why not give him or her to their father. To family._

_I don't think that would be right, you raising a child while we're still partners._

_I completely agree. So I'll apply for a transfer to a different location. We'll never bother you again._

_ Brennan remained speechless for several moments. She'd never seen Booth act so cold, so distant. She had no doubt that he'd be a wonderful father to their child, that wasn't the issue. No, her doubts lay somewhere else entirely, somewhere deep inside. "Would I be a good mother?" she asked herself. No. That was the only answer she felt could possibly be right. "What child would want me for a mother?" she thought. No child. My baby deserves to be born with a clean slate, a good life._

_Alright, I'll call the adoption agency. You can have the baby._

_ She closed her eyes at her own words. And that was the first time that Seeley Booth had every walked out. He walked out and left her crying silently in her office. Then she was alone. She could no longer hold back the sobs, and, slowly, the ripping in her chest began to escalate. The pain was unlike anything she'd every felt. It felt like everything in the world was coming to an end, like it was going to impale on her right then and there. That's when she realized what the pain was. _

_A broken heart._

_ No, she reasoned. It wasn't heartbreaking. It was heart crushing._

_It didn't matter what you wanted to call it._

_She just hoped it didn't last forever._


	2. Chapter 2

"Daddy! Daddy! It's time to wake up!"

"Really?" a groggy Booth grunted as he rolled over to great his daughter, "Because I'm pretty sure it isn't time to wake up until the sun's up."

"No daddy, it's time to get up NOW. We're going to be late for our first day of school! You don't want me to be late do you? I'm already dressed and everything." the little girl said with a sense of absolute urgency.

"Of course I don't want you to be late, but the school doesn't even open for another three hours. We have plenty of time. Time for you to get breakfast and time for daddy to get an extremely large vat of coffee."

"Well, alright…"

"Hey, since we have so much time why don't I make you a special first day of school breakfast. We can have pancakes."

"With fruit smiley faces?"

"I couldn't imagine a special breakfast without fruit smiley faces!"

"Ok! I'm going to go and make sure everything's in my backpack. Then I can help you with the pancakes!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. As she jumped off the bed and ran to the door, she paused and turned back, "Hey, daddy?"

"Yeah kiddo,"

"I love you."

"I love you too Tempe."

Booth smiled to himself. That was his little Tempe: full of energy, excited about fruit smiley faces and over the moon about her first day of school. He'd heard about nothing else for the last year. "When will I get to go to school daddy? Will it be soon? Because I really want it to be soon." He kept telling her to be patient, that the first day of school would come soon enough.

Oh, Tempe.

That's what he'd named her: Temperance Christine Booth. From her dark hair to her chocolate brown eyes, it certainly didn't take a genius to know that they were father and child. It may have been easy for everyone else to see him in that bright little smile, but he didn't quite understand it. Every time he looked at her he saw Bones. Just Bones.

Tempe was so inquisitive, asking any question that popped into her head. What are clouds made of? Are there only girl lady bugs or are there boys too? Where does the water go when it goes down the drain? How many stars are in the universe?

He did his best to answer her inquires, sometimes he even had to look up the answer on the internet, but he always gave her an answer. That was one thing he'd promised himself the moment the doctor had but her in his arms. He promised himself that he would always tell her the truth, no matter what question she asked.

But sometimes, she asked those truly difficult questions, ones that didn't exactly have an answer.

Why do people hurt other people? Why do people kill each other? Why daddy?

He knew that he could give her some sort of answer. "People aren't perfect, sweetheart," he began, "sometimes, they make mistakes. They get really angry or upset and they don't know how to handle it, so they take it out on other people."

Those questions may have been hard, but nothing, not even the most difficult philosophical question, could compare to what little Tempe had asked her father just months before.

"Where's my mommy?"

Booth had been shocked by the words. Deep inside, he had known it was coming. He just hoped he would've had more time.

"Daddy, are you going to pick me up from school or do you have to work?" Tempe asked, swinging her legs in her chair as her dad placed a stack of pancakes on her plate.

"Starting next Monday, Claire's going to get you. I only got you this week because it was your first time at school."

She wrinkled her nose, "Why can't you get me?"

"You know I have to work, but I'll be home for dinner every night. You can count on that. And you love Claire."

"I guess, she's better than old Mrs. Potter next door. Her house always smells like old cheese!"

"Temperance! You know it's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, especially people that are only trying to do the best for you."

"Well it's true! I can't help it if it's true!"

Booth sighed in defeat. Mrs. Potter's house really did smell like cheese. He never could argue with logic, especially from women named Temperance.

Suddenly, he was jerked out his thoughts, "Daddy! The phone's ringing!" Tempe shouted as she bolted out of her chair to grab the portable handset.

"Booth residence, Tempe speaking!" she said in the clearest and happiest of tones. "One moment please," she placed the handset to her chest, "Dad, it's for you."

"Hello?"

"Booth?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Angela, I'm sorry to bother you, I know none of us are supposed to call you or contact you or whatever, but I didn't know what else to do, it just seemed like…".

Cutting her off, "What's going on Angela? Is it," he paused. "Is it Brennan?"

"Yeah, it's Brennan. Long story short, she's in trouble. A LOT, of trouble. She needs you."

"I'll be there in a few hours."

With that, he hung up the phone and turned to face Tempe who, unbeknownst to him, had stared at him with curious eyes throughout the whole conversation.

"Kiddo, I need you to get the suitcase in your closet."

"The one I take when we go on vacation?"

"Exactly, I need you to pack your bag just like for vacation."

"Ok, daddy. Why are we leaving daddy?"

That was a hard one. He wasn't exactly sure of that answer himself. Why should he drop everything and run to Washington just because she was in trouble. He didn't even know what kind of trouble. Was it work related? Or was it personal? Was it a quick fix? Or would this be more long term? Did it matter?

No. It didn't matter. He knew good and well that he would have ceased almost any opportunity to see her, even for a minute: the woman who broke him, the woman who abandoned her child, the woman who had let him walk away. That was who he was rushing to see.

Why?, he asked himself, Why was he doing this to himself?

He could only come up with one answer.

Love can make you do some pretty stupid things sometimes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Daddy, are we there yet?" Tempe questioned anxiously from her car seat.

"Not yet Tempe, we've still got another hour or so to go," he replied.

"An hour! That seems like an awfully long time!"

"I know it seems long, but it'll go by in really fast."

"Why are we going on this trip anyway?"

"Well, Tempe, a friend of daddy's is in a little bit of trouble and I need to help them out."

"What kind of trouble?"

"I'm not sure exactly," he mumbled to himself.

"Who's your friend? Are they a boy or a girl?"

"We use to work together. And she's a girl."

"Does she catch bad guys too?"

"Not exactly, but she helps out the people, like me, who do catch the bad guys. When we get to D.C., you're going to stay with one of my other friends. Her name's Angela."

"Why can't I stay with you?"

"Because kiddo, what's the rule?"

Sighing heavily, she responded, "I don't get to help catch the bad guys until I'm tall enough to reach to cookie jar on the top shelf of the pantry. Without a ladder."

"That's right. And can you reach the top shelf?"

"No…but what if I never can reach it! You have to stand on tip toes to do it!"

Deep down, he hoped she never would reach it. It was true that he hoped she never had to see the hate and horrors of the world. He wanted his sweet little Tempe to always be innocent.

But beyond that, he didn't want her to be her mother.

As he glanced in the rear view mirror, she grinned at him.

"Why are you lit up like the 4th of July?"

"I don't know what that means daddy."

So much for that hope.

Angela Montenegro sat impatiently in her office, drumming her fingers on her desk. It was just after ten o'clock and the lab was already empty. _Where is he?_, she thought. That was a ridiculous question. She'd only called him an hour before and, at this point, she wasn't even sure where he was living. _He could be living halfway across the country._

Suddenly, she heard a knock at her office door.

"Angela?"

"Booth!" she said, rushing over to hug him. "Thanks' for coming on such short notice."

"Well, it sounded like it was important on the phone."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Tempe whined as she pulled on her father's jacket.

Glancing down, Angela's was startled at the little creature standing before her. A large fleece hat engulfed her head and only faintly showed the brown locks beneath. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown that seemed to say, you can trust me. This kid was practically cut out of Seeley Booth. Except for one thing: the smile. That was all Brennan.

The girl slipped a hand out of her tiny mittens and held it out for Angela to shake.

"Hi."

"Hi there."

"Tempe this is who I was telling you about, this is Angela. Angela, this is my daughter, Temperance."

"Oh really. Temperance? Interesting. Very interesting."

"I only get called Temperance when I'm in really really really big trouble. Everybody usually just calls me Tempe."

"Ok, Tempe it is."

"Hey, kiddo, why don't you go over on the sofa and get out your book while Angela and I talk."

"Ok daddy. It was nice meeting you Angela!"

"You too Tempe," she said, still somewhat taken aback by that smile.

"Ok Angela, what's this all about? There's no one else in the lab right now, so I'm going to assume that she hasn't been kidnapped and there's no major murder that needs solving or anything of a professional nature. So, what is it?"

"Maybe we should sit down."

"I hate it when people say that, they should just say I'm about to tell you something awful and I would prefer if you didn't faint on me so sit your butt down."

"Ok. I'm about to tell you something awful and I would prefer if you didn't faint on me so sit your butt down. And since when do you say things like sit your butt down?"

"Since I got a daughter. Can we stay on point please?"

"Right! Well, let me start off by saying that even though it is great to see you, I only called you as a last resort. I really did exhaust every other possible option I could think of, but it didn't really seem like I had any other choices left. And…"

Cutting her off, "I get. I wasn't your first call."

"You were right before. Brennan hasn't been kidnapped, she hasn't been buried alive, and she isn't being taunted be a serial killer. I almost wish she was. Then we would know what we were fighting. This is going to be so much harder." She paused, as if preparing herself, "Booth, you have to understand, since you left, she hasn't been the same. She's, well,…different."

"Different how?"

"It was really bad at first. I thought she was a workaholic before, but after you left, literally all she did was work. Sometimes I don't think she left the lab for weeks. And I do mean weeks, she was basically living out of her office. Then, after a severe and intense talk, she seemed to grasp the concept that showering in the decontamination unit was not meant to be part of anyone's daily routine."

"I'm pretty sure you didn't call me to talk about her personal hygiene."

"No I didn't," she whispered solemnly, "After our talk, she seemed to fall back into a normal routine, or at least as normal as Brennan will ever get, you know, going home at night and coming back in the morning kind of thing. Everything seemed good, but then all of a sudden, it wasn't. She started missing work, sometimes I couldn't get a hold of her for days. It was like she would just drop off the face of the earth and then suddenly reappear."

"Missing work? You had me dragged me and my daughter to a place that I swore I would never set foot in again to talk about Brennan missing work!?!"

"Can I finish please?"

"Sorry. Go on."

"After awhile, it was getting ridiculous. Cam gave me two weeks to get it straightened out or she was going to fire Brennan. I know that despite everything, Brennan needs this job. She is this job! She would give up anything for this job!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like…"

"Yeah, I know you didn't."

"Well, I went over to her place, and I basically camped in front of her door until she let me in. It was weird; she was just so…different. It's like her eyes were empty or something. I begged her to just tell me what was going on. I mean, I'm her best friend and I don't judge. I promised her, whatever it was she could tell me."

"What was it?"

"She told me that one night, when she was going home, somebody attacked her in the parking garage."

"Attacked, how?"

Angela's eyes said it all, "They beat her pretty bad, and he, well…you know. I still can't believe I didn't pick up on the fact that something else was wrong. I'm a horrible friend."

"What do you mean something else?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe losing the love of her life!"

"She wanted me to go."

"You and I both know that is the biggest load of crap ever."

"You and I both know that you're not a horrible friend."

"Yeah, well, that's debatable. Since the attack, I've taken her to counselors and doctors of every nature, she's been on antidepressants, I mean the poor girl has more drugs in her system than Jimi Hendrix. But none of it seems to matter, it's only getting worse."

"What's getting worse?"

"Her panic disorder, her night terrors, her flashbacks, her...hallucinations. She has panic attacks. A lot of them. They started after she was attacked. Her first one when she was leaving work a couple of days later. It was pretty bad, but she didn't tell anyone. She just sort of, stopped coming in. I guess she figured if she wasn't here, it wouldn't be a problem."

"How long ago was this? The attack I mean?"

"Two years."

"Why are you calling me now?"

"Because, Booth, she's not getting any better. Nothing's working! I don't know what to do for her. She doesn't sleep anymore. She's afraid if she does, she's going to relive the whole thing. Every time she comes within three feet of this place, she has an attack."

"What does this have to do with me?" Booth said coldly.

"Well, first of all, I know Brennan. She's tough and even after you left she tried to be strong. You remember the whole New Orleans thing, she thought she'd been attacked then and she practically did the rape kit herself! Why would this be different? Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"I'm not saying it isn't horrible, because it is. It's terrible. No one should ever have to go through that. And I know that it's changed her forever. And I know that whatever evil piece of dirt that did this to her has earned himself a special place in hell, but I also think, that…she's using it. She's using it as an excuse."

"An excuse? You think she made it up?"

"No! Of course not! I think she was so broken after you left, and the piece of trash that hurt her, he was just kicking her while she was down. I think she if this had happened under normal circumstances, she would have struggled, but she would have eventually picked herself and would get on with her life. But this was anything but normal. She was already so…broken. After the attack, she had a real reason to never set foot in this building again. She didn't have to pretend that her heart didn't break every time she walked into her office and she thought about you, you and that beautiful little girl. She had a reason to tell the world "I feel like hell today" and she could blame her problems on something other than herself. I'm pretty sure that has to do with you."

Seeley sat in silence, unable to meet Angela's eyes.

"But more importantly, I know that no matter how angry or cold you may act, you're in with love her. You've always been in love with her. She is the mother of child and right now, she's broken. And she needs more than I can give her…She needs you. That's why I called. You're the only one that can help her through this."

"Why should I? She was willing to let me just walk away. She was willing to give up her child. She abandoned us. You seem so certain that I'll help her. That I'll stay. That I'll drop my life and take my daughter away from her school and her friends to help the woman that essentially gave her away. You're so certain I…that I…still love her. Why, after everything that's happened? How could you be so sure that I'd come?"

"I couldn't be sure, but Booth, you did come. You did drop everything. You didn't ask any questions. You just came. And you wouldn't have done any of that if you weren't still in love with her."


	4. Chapter 4

"She's at George Washington University Hospital. You should be able to get in to see her, just tell them you're her emergency contact."

"What do I do if they check?"

"Well…you kind of are her emergency contact. She had it changed after that whole getting kidnapped by a crazy FBI agent thing and I guess she never changed it back, so you shouldn't have a problem."

Booth placed his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh.

"How am I supposed to do this? I mean, what do I say to her?"

"Just relax. It's just Brennan. She may be a little wacko right now, but deep down she's still in there. And if anybody can bring the real Bren out, it's you."

"What do I say though? Do I tell her that I'm back? Do I tell her that I want to take care of her? I mean…I don't want to freak her out or anything."

"Just take it slow, sit with her for awhile. Even though she may act calm, trust me, she's not. She will also probably try to get discharged early. Don't fall for it! If the doctor wants to keep her for observation, for goodness sakes let him. Ease her into it, let her know that you're going to be there for her."

Booth stood up and walked over to Angela's office door. Inside, Tempe sat reading a Dr. Seuss book to her stuffed animal. He stood for several moments watching her animate the story with such intensity.

"Can you take her for the night? I have a feeling I'm going to be at the hospital for awhile."

"Yeah, of course I will. It's getting late, so I'll take her back to my place. You're both welcome to stay with me as long as you like."

Turning to face her, "Ok, well, everything she needs should be in her bag. First, you need to make sure she brushes her teeth. Lately, she's been trying to fake it by just wetting the toothbrush, so you need to actually stand and watch her brush. You also need to make sure that you don't give her milk right before she goes to sleep. I don't know what the deal is, but when she drinks it before bed, she gets a little nuts. Also, make sure that when you tuck her into bed, she has her stuffed pig, Mr. George. Sometimes she goes to bed and forgets him in the living room or the car or something, and if she doesn't have him, she'll end up screaming her head off in the middle of the night because she thinks he's run away. Oh, which reminds me, I don't know how your house is set up exactly, but if there's a closet in the room she's sleeping in, make sure you check it for monsters before you turn the light out. You should probably check under the bed too, for good measure. I think that's everything. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call me."

Angela smiled and shook her head, "I never would have thought…Don't worry Booth! We'll be fine! I'll take great care of her. Now go be with Bren."

- - - - -

Room 421. The number was practically engrained in Booth's retinas by now. He'd been standing outside Room 421 for the last forty five minutes, trying to get up the courage to go in. But as the minutes passed, he didn't seem any closer to going in.

_Ok. Here goes nothing._

When he pushed open the large wooden door, it revealed a tiny room with a thumbnail of a window hidden in the corner.

And there she was. His Bones.

Her eyes her practically glued shut as she lay, almost lifeless, on the bed. Her skin was completely drained of color. Everything about her-her hair, her skin-seemed almost dulled.

He grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it next to her bedside.

_Geez, Bones, what have you done to yourself?_

- - - - -

Booth was jolted awake by the sounds of the nurses and doctors outside, bustling to make their morning rounds. He quickly looked over to the bed and much to his surprise, Bones sat in complete silence, her eyes wide open, staring at him. No, she wasn't staring at him. It was almost as if she was staring _through_ him.

"Hey, you're awake!"

But she didn't respond.

"Well…do you need anything?"

Still nothing.

He leaned in and grasped her hand, she looked startled, as if she hadn't known he was really there.

"Hey, Bones, can you hear me?"

"What did you call me?"

He smiled gently, "The same thing I've been calling you since the day we met."

Brennan yanked her hand back and covered her face. "This isn't possible! I am in control! I am in control! You are not there! This isn't real!"

Booth carefully leaned in and pulled her hands down, "Bones, this isn't in your head. It's really me."

"But…how?"

"Angela called."

"I can't believe it's really you," she said, trying to hold back the tears. "I never thought that you would come back."

"Well, I'm really here. I promise. And I'm not going anywhere."

"I think you should leave. Now."

Seeley stared at her in utter disbelief. How could she be like this!?! This was unbelievable!

"You shouldn't be here. Really, I'm fine. Please leave Seeley."

He started to rise from his chair, but quickly changed his mind.

"No. I'm not leaving. I did not come all this way and sit here worrying and wait all night for you to wake up to just leave. And you're not fine. You're about as far from fine as anybody can get. Angela told me everything that's happened. I said I'm not going anywhere and I meant it. I'm going to sit right here, next to you, for as long as nessicary."

Practically whispering, Brennan replied, "Booth, I don't deserve your help." Then, she could no longer fight her tears, and she burst into a full blown sob.

Without hesitation, he pulled her into a deep embrace.

He would have held her forever if she had asked. He knew it couldn't cure everything. When he let go, she would still be broken and he would still be powerless to help her.

But, for now, it was enough.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, hey Angela," Booth said, startled awake as she entered the stark hospital room.

"Hey, Booth. How's she doing today?" Angela replied as she looked over to a sleeping Brennan.

"Where's…" Booth began,

"Relax! She's fine. I left her with Cam. So, Bren?"

"She seems to have stabilized. The doctor said she could probably go home tomorrow."

"That's great."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Why do you sound like it isn't a good thing?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do. She can't be by herself, but I can't exactly take her home with me because of….."

"Yeah, I know. But you'll figure it out."

"I wish I had your confidence. Even if the living situation could be worked out, I don't know how much longer I can stay in D.C. I have work and she has school…I'm a horrible. She's only been in school two weeks and she's already been absent for half that."

"Hey, you are not a bad father. That little girl is amazing, Booth. You should be proud of the job you've done with her."

Booth smiled. "Thanks Ange."

"You're welcome…Maybe you should take her with you."

"Take who with me where?"

"Brennan. Maybe you should take her back with you to…wherever you're living. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for her to get away from this place, for awhile at least."

Sighing, "How am I going to explain this to her? Hey, kiddo, there's this strange woman who's going to be living with us from now on…I can't lie to her Angela. I never could and I never will."

"So tell her the truth."

"I can't do that either."

"Well, you're going to have to do one or the other."

"Either way, either path, I end up hurting one or both of them."

"Why do you say that?"

"If I tell the truth, she's going to be expecting her mother…I like to pretend that I'm enough for her. That she doesn't need anyone else, but that's crap. And I know it. She's been dreaming of meeting her mother since…forever. If this doesn't work out, and Bones…leaves us again…I don't want my daughter to feel that…But if I lie to her, then I'm asking Bones to lie...and I'm violating my daughter's trust…something I've worked very hard to maintain."

- - - -

After Angela left, Booth played over his options, for what seemed like hours.

"You don't have to make a choice."

"Bones? You…you heard?"

Brennan opened her eyes and rolled over to face him.

"There's a third path. You go back home and I stay here. End of story. "

"Why are you always trying to get rid of me?"

"I've done some horrible things to you. I won't force you to violate your principals for me. Not anymore."

"While I appreciate you trying to protect my principals, you're not forcing me to do anything. I chose to come here. I chose to sit here for the last week, next to your bed, because I wanted to…I want you to come and stay with us. If you don't want me to tell her who you are, that's fine. I respect that. If you do want me to tell her, I'll do that too. But you're going to come back with me. You're going to stay and we're going to figure this out. You're going to get better."

"What if I don't? What if…I'm too broken?"

Booth had been wondering the same thing for days. What if he couldn't help her? Was it worth it, to drag his daughter into this mess, for a hopeless case? Absolutely. She was always worth it.

"Bones, I don't care if it takes forever. We're going to figure this out."

A pause hung in the air for several moments before Brennan broke the silence.

"Ok."

- - - - -

"Daddy!" Tempe shouted as she raced into her father's arms.

"Hey, kiddo!"

"I really want to go home now daddy."

"I know you do sweetheart, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"Really?!? And I can go back to school and everything?"

"You sure can…but before we go anywhere, I need to talk to you about something really important, ok?"

"Of course, daddy."

"Now you know that we came here so that I could help a friend out, who was in trouble…Well, she's still in trouble. It turns out, she's very sick."

"Can't you take her to the hospital and give her some medicine?"

"I wish it was that easy, but she's not sick like when you had the chicken pox, she's hurt in a way that's a lot harder to fix."

"How?" she inquired, her eyes growing big with concern.

"Her heart is broken, and it hurts all the time. She had some very bad things happen to her and someone that she loved very much had to go away from her and because of that, her heart hurts."

"Why doesn't that person come back and fix it?"

"Hearts aren't easy to fix Tempe. Once their broken, it can take years to put them back together, sometimes they never are quite right again…Sweetheart, I'm telling you this because daddy's friend is so sad that I'm afraid to leave her alone, so I was thinking that maybe she could come and stay with us for awhile, maybe even a long time."

"You mean leave with you and me at our house?"

"Yeah, would you be ok with that?"

"Of course. Nobody should be alone when they're sad."

- - - - - -

Booth pulled up in front of Angela's apartment and quickly turned off the engine. He stared out the window for several moments, somewhat dreading entering the building.

"You're sure you don't want to tell her?"

"Yes, I'm sure…You're not lying to her. You told her that we used to be friends. That's the truth."

"Somehow, I don't think she'd see it that way," he whispered to himself. "You ready to go in?"

"Alright."

They both exited the care. Booth rushed over to help Brennan who, still weakened, moved at a significantly decreased speed.

"Hey sweetie!" Angela exclaimed as she opened the door. "Come on in!"

"Is she ready to go?" Booth inquired.

"Yeah, we were just getting her things together. I'll go get her." And with that, she rushed out of the room.

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"Of course Booth. We agreed that not telling her…"

"No, I don't mean are you sure you can lie to her…I mean, are you sure you can handle…meeting her…I was stupid of me not to say anything before…I know I should have thought this through. I didn't even think about the pressure on you…"

"Booth…" but she was unable to finish her thought, as a very excited little girl rushed into her daddy's arms.

"You're late! You promised to pick me up at exactly eleven o'clock and according to my Hello Kitty watch, it is now eleven twenty two!"

"I'm sorry kiddo, but it took me a little longer than I thought. You think you can forgive me?"

"I guess…I bet I could forgive you even faster if we stopped for burgers on the way home!"

"Burgers? I think we can handle that."

"Hurray!" she exclaimed, suddenly she noticed who was standing behind him. "Who's that daddy?"

"Well, kiddo, this is the friend I was talking to you about last night. This is Temperance Brennan."

Little Tempe stared at the woman in disbelief, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Your name's Temperance too?" she said, holding out each word for emphasis.

"Too?" Brennan managed to spit out.

"Yeah, I meant to say something before."

With that, Tempe walked up and held out her hand for Brennan to shake. Reluctantly, she took it as Tempe began, "Hi! My name's Temperance Booth, but you can call me Tempe! Everyone does, except for when I'm in trouble. Like last year, I accidently crossed the street without looking both ways and daddy used my full name "Temperance Christine Booth, you get over here right now!" But other than that, I never get called Temperance. Do you?"

"Well, I…uh…most people call me Temperance."

"I never met anyone else named Temperance. This is really cool!"

"Christine?" she repeated, looking into Booth's eyes.

"It seemed appropriate."

"I can't do this." And with that, she turned and bolted out the door. She could hear her heartbeat, pulsating in her ears. _Why did I agree to do this? Why did I think I could handle this?_

By the time she reached the end of the block, she slowed herself to a steady walk, and then abruptly stopped.

_No. I can't leave. Not again._

Slowly, she turned and headed back to the apartment, thinking of a way to say "I'm sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

Brennan hovered outside Angela's apartment door for several minutes, trying to gather up the courage to go in. Before she could debate any further, the door swung open, revealing a solemn looking Booth.

"Bones!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Booth. I shouldn't have done that, run away like that. I don't know what came over me. It seems that I was not entirely in control of my own actions…I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Bones. Why don't you come back inside?"

"Maybe I shouldn't."

"You're not going to run again, are you?"

"I don't believe so, but…I don't want to take any chances…Maybe this was a bad idea."

With that, Booth walked up to her and took her face in his hands, "Hey, I haven't changed my mind. I think this is still the right choice."

She could barely breathe as she looked into his eyes, "Alright. If you're certain."

- - - - - -

Within an hour, Booth had both Temperance's packed into the car and ready to go. Angela had given Brennan one last hug and assured her that it was all going to be alright. Eventually.

They traveled in silence for several miles before Tempe broke the silence.

"Daddy, what day is today?"

"It's Saturday, kiddo."

"Do I get to go to school on Monday?"

"You sure do."

"I can't wait! Are you going to take me this week? And pick me up too?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll probably be able to take you, but I need to call Claire when we get home to see if she can watch you after school."

"Can't I stay with Bones?" She had picked up the name quickly. After all, she couldn't imagine being called Temperance all the time. Bones was a much better name. "She could stay with me at the house, right?"

There it was. The first question that Booth had no answer to. It was to be the first of many.

"I thought you liked Claire," _Good recovery_, he thought.

"She's ok, I guess, but I would rather come home after school. And isn't Bones going to stay with us?"

"Well, yes,…but…," _I got nothing_.

Then, Brennan calmly answered, "As much as I would love to stay with Tempe, I don't really have much experience with children. You probably would have much more fun with this Claire than you would with me. I bet she does fun things with you, right?"

Nodding vigorously, "That's true…she take me to the park and even the library if I'm extra good."

"Tempe loves the library, don't you?" Booth interjected.

"The library is the best place in the whole world! Except for school."

Booth smiled and shook his head, "I don't know about you sometimes kid."

"You like to read, Tempe?"

"Oh, yes."

"What do you like to read?"

"Everything," Tempe replied, beaming from ear to ear.

Brennan glanced at the little girl in the rearview mirror, "Me too," she whispered. "Me too."

- - - - - -

"I'm finished with my hamburger now; can I go play for a little while?"

"Yeah, come here first, let me wipe you off…There. Good to go."

"Thank you!" she managed as she ran toward the playground.

"Stay where I can see you!" he shouted back, and then he sighed to himself.

"She's wonderful Booth," came a weakened voice. Brennan had hardly spoken since the library conversation, almost an hour earlier.

"She is, isn't she?"

"Has she ever…asked…"

"..About you?" Brennan nodded in reply. "A couple of times, in her own special way…She once asked me where you were."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you weren't ready to take of her, so you trusted me to love her and make sure she was safe…I told her that you love her."

"Then you didn't tell her a lie."

"There were days when I wondered if I did."

"I've always loved her Booth. Always."

"You have a funny way of showing it." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. "I'm sorry Bones, I didn't mean it like…"

"No, you're right. I'm a horrible mother. I'm a horrible person."

"You are not a bad person…You made a choice. I may not have fully understood it at the time, or even now, but I want to Bones. I really do."

"What else has she asked?"

He paused, unable to get the words out. "She…asked me…if you think about us, where you are. And if I…think about you."

"What did you say?"

"I told her you did…and that I think about you every day…and I dream about you every night…no matter what."

"Booth…I'm so sorry."

"The hardest one to answer,…was last year…on her birthday…I told her that she was getting so big, that in a couple of years, I might not even recognize her…She looked so serious, and she picked up my hand and looked me in the eye and said 'Daddy, if mommy hasn't seen me since I was a baby, how will she know what I look like?'…that one really caught me off guard."

"What did you tell her?" Brennan asked, almost not wanting to know.

"I told her that you dreamed of her, just like I dream of you…Did I lie on that one?"

She didn't answer, but instead, she met his eyes. It was the first time that he saw the true depth of her pain and sadness. She didn't need to answer. Her eyes said it all.

Since the moment Booth had left her, taken her daughter away, she had been dreaming of them. She saw them every moment, of every day.

Booth reached out and grabbed on to her hand, and she felt something that she had not known for a long time. She felt a flutter in her heart.

Maybe there was hope for a crushed heart.


	7. Chapter 7

In less than ten minutes, Booth pulled into the driveway of an old, two-story brick home. Tempe gave shouts of joy from the backseat as she struggled to get out of her car seat.

"You want to go in?" Booth inquired. Brennan silently nodded affirmatively back at him.

He opened the back seat door and let his daughter out, and then he proceeded to unlock the front door. Bren slowly made her way up the front staircase and stepped over the threshold.

The house was breathtaking. The front door led into a small vestibule that broke off into other parts of the house. A large family room on the left hand side was warm and inviting. Dozens of photos filled the walls: Tempe and Booth at the zoo, at the park, on vacation. It seemed like every moment of the little girl's life had been documented and framed.

"So, there's a guest bedroom upstairs, it's the first door on the left…I'll just put your stuff in there."

"Thank you." As he started to walk up the wooden staircase, a thought that had been gnawing at her, finally popped out. "Booth?"

"Yeah," he replied, swinging around to meet her question.

"You've lived here all this time?"

"Since she was about two…I wanted her to have a house…you know? A real home."

"No, I mean…you lived so close."

"Rebecca moved down here with Parker and a buddy of mine from Quantico runs the police department and he offered me a job, so, it just, kinda made sense."

From the top of the stairs, Tempe shouted down, "Where's Benji, daddy?"

"He's at Parker's house, remember? We'll go get the mangy mutt after church in the morning. It's getting late and you need to be getting to bed little lady."

"Ok," she said, a little disappointed, "Will you read to me though?"

"Do you promise to actually brush your teeth?" he inquired and, upon receiving a very convincing yes, responded, "Alright, go get in your pj's while I finish unloading the car and then I'll read you a story."

- - - - - -

Booth entered his daughter's room to see her already tucked into bed with her reading lamp on.

"Alright, what are we reading tonight?" She handed him a worn paperback as he said, "Are you sure you don't want to read a different one Temp? We've read this one about a million times."

"No we haven't! We read it exactly twenty two times. I made a list on the inside front cover. See?"

"Well, are you sure you don't want to read another one?"

"No daddy, this is my favorite. Please?" she asked, holding out the word extra long.

"Alright, alright. Here we go."

"Now don't forget, you have to read the title and the author and everything."

"I got it, ok. Matilda by Roald Dahl. Chapter one: The Reader of Books. It's a funny thing about mothers and their fathers…"

Booth got all the way to Chapter Five before he noticed Tempe had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He gently picked her head up and moved it from his shoulder to her pillow. He flipped over her light and leaned in to kiss her goodnight.

"I love you daddy," she mumbled.

"I love you too."

_Me too,_ Brennan thought. She'd seated herself just outside the door for Booth's reading. _I've missed so much._

- - - - -

As Booth left the room, he nearly crashed into Brennan. He held out his hand to help her up and gestured for him to follow him downstairs and into the kitchen. She silently followed.

"You want some tea?"

"Alright."

"Are you doing ok?...I mean, as ok as you can be?"

"I'm fine." Booth looked at her, questioning her unsteady answer. "Really, I promise."

"I know this is a lot, but we're going to figure it out."

"You have this way of making everything sound reasonable…I don't know what I'm doing here Booth."

"You're here to get away. You're here so I can help you. You're here to get better."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, you're color's coming back, I'd say that's a start…You know, Bones, anything you need, you just tell me, ok?"

"Keep calling me that."

"What? Bones?"

"Yeah, "she smiled softly. "I've really missed that."

"You got it. Bones."

"That's not going to fix everything. As much as I wish it could."

"I know that you and I aren't exactly as close as we once were, but you can still talk to me. You can still tell me anything."

"There's just so much…I don't know where to start…I don't know how to start."

"Well, we're going to take it one day at a time…you just go at whatever speed you need to."

"I want to tell you…I want to tell you so badly…everything that's happened, I wish I could just tell you, and it would fix everything and I wouldn't be the insane and unbalanced woman that I am, but it's just not that easy…I've been holding everything inside for so long, I don't know how to let it out."

"Why don't you start with just one thing? Something you haven't told anyone. Something…that hurts you. You'll feel better, when you start to let it out."

"You once told me that getting information out of live people is a lot different from getting information from a pile of bones. You have to offer up something of yourself first."

"Really? I said that?"

"Yes you did."

"Well, that seems fair…Do you want me to go first?" she nodded yes. "Well…what do you want to know? Something I haven't told anyone?"

"Anything, I've missed you Booth. I feel like, I don't know you anymore. And I just…I want to know…anything."

"Alright," he thought for a moment. "You know, I wasn't always going to name her Temperance….I had a whole list of names picked out. If it had been a boy, I would have named him Henry, after Pops. I was certain of that one, but I kept going back and forth on the girl name. I had a list, but I couldn't seem to pick one. I thought about Elizabeth, after my mom, or Amelia, just because I've always liked that name. I wanted her to have a good name. I mean, being stuck with a name like Seeley wasn't so great, so I really wanted to pick a good name. I finally decided on Amelia, but then…when I held her, and I looked into her eyes,…it just, didn't fit. None of the names I had picked out seemed right…Everybody always tells me that she looks like me, Angela said she was practically cut out of me, which, I guess, for the most part is true. Dark hair, brown eyes…but I don't always see it. From the moment I saw her, from the moment she smiled up at me…I knew…I knew right then, that she was a Temperance."

"Booth…" she mumbled, holding back the tears. "I'm so sorry." She paused a moment to wipe her eyes, and suddenly, Booth rushed over to embrace her, and she broke down. After several minutes she pulled away, and started to back away.

"I lied to you. That day…You asked me, if I was sure that I didn't want to see her, before…before you left. I told you that it was nessicary, and that you should just go…but it was a lie…That night, after you left, one of the nurses let me into the nursery, and…and I held her…I held her for…hours, it seemed like. She was so tiny and beautiful and perfect…From the moment I laid eyes on her, she had me…I didn't know it right away…but everything after that was going to be different…I wasn't going to be the same person."

"Aw, Bones. Why didn't you say something then?"

"I don't know…I was afraid. I knew she would be better off without me. I knew that she would have a better life with you."

He pulled her into a deep hug that seemed to never end. She could feel his heart beating inside chest, it was steady. Constant.

"I want to tell you something else."

Booth looked down at her, "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I never stopped loving you."

Booth's eyes widened, "Loving me? But I thought…"

"So did I. I didn't realize until it was too late…I love you so much, and it's killing me. I thought it was bad before you left, but after…after you took Tempe…I didn't really have a reason to live anymore. I thought work would be enough, but I sorely misjudged that…I don't know how I'm supposed to keep going…especially here. I don't know if I can do this…what if it doesn't work out? Me staying here? What if I have to leave? I don't know if I can go through that again…watching you walk away."

"I want to tell you something too…I'm never going to walk away. Ever."


	8. Chapter 8

And so they took it one day at a time. Booth continued with his routine. He woke each morning, took Tempe to school, went to work, and came home at the end of the day. Brennan held maintained the lifestyle of a hermit. She slept well into the afternoon every day. Some days she tried to read and several times she even began writing a little, but mostly she would simply sit in her room and stare listlessly out the window.

But every night, Booth tucked Tempe into bed and he went downstairs to make tea and sit with Bones at the center island in the kitchen. And they talked.

He mostly told her about Tempe. He told Bones that her favorite color was purple. She loved reading more than anything in the world. She liked to hide in the pantry and then jump out to surprise him. Her favorite food was peanut butter and banana sandwiches. He told her that last Thanksgiving, he and Tempe drove down to Williamsburg for the holiday. Tempe loved it so much that she wanted to move into the colonial town permanently, but after a long chat, she realized that she would miss her house and room far too much.

Sometimes, he told Bones about himself. He told her that his biggest fear was that he wasn't for his daughter, that she needed more than he could ever really give. He told her that every day, Tempe sounded more and more like her. A few times, he had even caught himself staring at her while she babbled on about something and he could have sworn that Brennan was sitting right in front of him.

But most importantly, he told her that he could understand going a little crazy. He told her the only reason he didn't lose his marbles was Tempe. He still had a reason to live. He still had hope.

Brennan began slowly, especially that first night. She told him about the first time she felt Tempe kick and how she had tried to pretend that it didn't matter to her. She told Booth about the panic attacks, about how she couldn't breathe sometimes when she thought of him. She told him that during the attack, she actually hoped that he would just kill her then and there, so she could stop hurting for just a moment.

This continued night after night without fail. There was no sudden transformation. Brennan didn't wake up one morning miraculously healed.

But every day, it was a little easier to get out of bed.

It was a little easier to breathe.

- - - - - - -

It was a typical Tuesday morning. Tempe sat at the kitchen table watching as Booth poured her cereal into a pink Disney Princess bowl.

Then, it happened.

"Can I join you?" asked a meek voice from the doorway. Booth swung around, nearly dropping the bowl on floor.

"Yeah, of course…Do you want something to eat?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine. I'll just…sit with you both, if that's alright."

"Of course it's alright." He placed the bowl in front of Tempe, who simply stared at it, as if confused as to its purpose. "Are you alright kiddo?"

"I don't feel very good today dad," Tempe said as she picked up a spoon and stirred her Cheerios.

He felt her forehead with the back of his hand, "You don't have a fever, what's wrong?"

"My tummy hurts…a lot."

"What kind of hurt? Does it feel like knots in there? Or does it feel like something's poking you?"

"I don't know…it just…hurts….I don't want to go to school today."

"Wow, you must really be sick if you don't want to go to school." He was about to send her back up to bed, when he noticed something in her eyes, "Are you sure something's not bothering you, sweetie? Because you can tell me if it is."

"Nothing's bothering me! I just don't feel good! Don't you understand?" Then she leapt off her chair and quickly ran upstairs and into her room, slamming the door.

"I assume this is not normal breakfast interaction."

"You got that right…I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been acting kind of down the last couple of days, and now she doesn't want to go to school…something's wrong, something big. But she won't talk to me."

"Do you…" she caught herself.

"Do I what?"

"Do you…want me to talk to her?"

"Are you sure? You don't have to get involved. We agreed before that I wasn't going to force you into any of the parenting stuff…until you're ready."

"Well, I offered, so I don't believe you're forcing me into anything. And it doesn't really matter about me, right? It's about her, and she obviously needs someone right now…And I want to help…Unless, you don't want me to, then, of course, you should handle it."

"No, no. I would love it."

Brennan nodded and made her way up the stairs.

- - - - -

"Tempe?" she said, knocking softly on her bedroom door.

Nothing.

"It's not your dad. It's Bones."

Nothing.

"Can I come in for a moment?" She heard a rustling sound, and the door slowly creaked open.

"Just for a minute, I guess," she sniffled.

Brennan entered the room and Tempe shut the door securely behind her, then ran over to her bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Sitting down on the edge of the mattress, she blurted out, "Tempe, you're dad's really worried about you." There was a mumble from beneath the sheets, but barely anything was decipherable.

Gently, Brennan pealed back the comforter to reveal Tempe's face. It was bright red and her eyes were nearly bloodshot from all the tears.

"Oh, Tempe…"

"I can't tell him! I just can't!" she cried, throwing her arms around Brennan. "I don't know how to tell him."

Brennan held the girl for several minutes before pulling her back and wiping the tears off of her face.

"What can't you tell him?"

"I can't tell you either."

"Why is that?"

"Because your daddy's friend. So if I tell you, you're going to tell him."

"What if…I promise to keep it a secret, just between us?"

"Will you pinky promise?"

"I'm not sure exactly what that means."

Tempe pulled their pinkies together and declared, "There. Now you have to say that you promise not to tell out loud."

"I promise not to tell…Now tell me, what's troubling you?"

"Well, awhile ago, my teacher, Ms. Thompson, told everybody in my class that we were going to have a big party right before Christmas. We were all really excited about it, even me. It sounded like fun, but then I wasn't so excited anymore."

"What happened?" Brennan inquired, fully engrossed in her daughter's story.

"Ms. Thompson told us that it wasn't just a party. It was a Mommy and Me party. The kindergarten class always has a Mommy and Me Christmas party…she told me that it was ok to bring daddy if I wanted to…but I didn't want to."

"You don't want your father to come?"

Tempe looked into Brennan's eyes, "I love my daddy. I wouldn't want any daddy but him. But sometimes, I wish that I had a mommy too, and not just daddy…I was afraid if I told him, he would get sad again."

"Sad?"

"I don't ask about my mommy very much…when I do, daddy gets his sad eyes. I don't like the sad eyes…so I don't ask about her…I think his heart hurts a lot when he thinks about her…I just don't want to make him sad…I don't want him to think he's a bad daddy either…He's the best."

Tears slowly streamed down Brennan's face, "Tempe, your father loves you very much and even though he may be sad sometimes, he still wants you to talk to him, especially when you're hurting. I bet he would want to know how you feel about this whole thing."

"Why do things have to be like this Bones? Daddy says mommy needs time, but how much time? Why is she taking so long?"

"I know she's trying…she's trying so much to come back to you."

"But I need her now," she whispered, wrapping herself around Brennan.

_I know you do…I know you do._

_If only you knew._


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm sorry for getting so upset Daddy."

"Oh, sweetie, it's okay. I just wish you could have told me what was wrong in the first place. You know you can always tell me."

"I know…I will from now on. I promise."

"So…what do you want to do about the party?"

"Do you think, maybe, you could come?"

"Of course I can."

"And maybe…Bones too?" She met his eyes, almost pleading.

Booth quickly looked at Brennan who hovered nearby in the doorway. _Am I asking too much of her?_

But she quickly chimed in, "I'd love to come."

He felt a sense of relief wash over him. So they were going to their daughter's Christmas party. Together.

_Together. I could get use to this_, he thought to himself.

- - - - - -

The party went off without a hitch. Booth had been secretly nervous in the hours preceding the event. _What if people ask questions? Or what if they notice the smile thing?_ But there were no problems. Everyone seemed to accept the fact that Brennan was a family friend and nothing more.

Tempe left the party beaming.

"That was the best party ever!! I think it might have even been better than my birthday party last year!"

"Wow, better than a birthday? It must have been good," Booth said, chuckling as he looked down at her.

"I'm so glad you both came!"

"Well, it was our pleasure. Right Bones?"

"Absolutely," she replied, calmly and seamlessly.

- - - - -

"Hey, kiddo, I think maybe you should think about going to bed."

"But daddy, I'm not even tired," she replied through a long and drawn out yawn.

"If you get ready really quick, I'll read you a story before sleepy time."

"Can Bones read to me tonight?" she asked eagerly.

"I…I think maybe you should ask her."

The little girl raced over to Brennan who sat comfortably a living room arm chair.

"Bones, would you read to me before sleepy time?"

Brennan hesitated, but a reassuring look from Booth pushed her words out. "I'd love to read with you."

Tempe rushed back to her father, "Are you sure it's okay if Bones reads to me?"

"It's absolutely okay. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, reading is our special time and I don't want you to think that I don't want our special time anymore."

"I would never think that," Booth said with a smile as he lifted her into his arms.

She put her small hand on his cheek.

"Nobody loves you like I do Daddy."

"And nobody ever could."

- - - - -

Almost an hour later, Brennan returned to the kitchen to find Booth mindlessly stirring a spoon in his cup of tea.

"That took a long time…Would she not go to sleep?"

"Um…she actually fell asleep very quickly."

"What took you so long?"

"I…well…I, uh…"

He cut her off, "You know, it's okay if you want to spend time with her…She is your daughter."

"But that's the thing Booth…She's not my daughter. She's your daughter. I wasn't there when she said her first word or when she took her first step. I wasn't there for her first day of school or any of the other things that make up who she is. A mother, a real mother, would have been there for every moment."

"She doesn't care about that…She just…wants you now."

"What if it's not enough?"

"It is."

"Booth, this isn't fair to you. I in effect, abandoned you. I left you to raise our daughter alone and you've done…such a wonderful job with her. I mean, she's amazing Booth. And now, you're just going to let me waltz in here and…pick up where I left off…and pretend like nothing's happened?...Can you really do that Booth?"

"I've been worried about that from the moment I got that call from Angela….I knew, that when I brought you here, she was going to fall for you…just like I did. I was almost dreading it. I thought I would be jealous…maybe even a little angry that she welcomed you with such ease, but it doesn't feel that way at all. I feel…happy…I can't begin to tell you how happy it made me to see you both together. This is what I've wanted more than anything for the past five years…I wanted us to be a family."

"But we're not Booth…I'm this crazy and dysfunctional woman and I probably shouldn't even be around her…I mean, what if…I mess her up or something?"

"You've been doing so well though, you haven't had a single panic attack since you've been here…You smile more. I see you coming back a little more each day…And I've watched you with her Bones, and…you're a natural."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. You're so laid back with her. I've never seen you act that way with anyone. Ever. It's like you've been doing it every day of your life. And she trusts you, I can tell. After all, she won't let just anyone read to her."

"It does feel easy. Being with her…being with you…it's easy. I haven't had that in a very long time...But Booth; she doesn't know who I am, not really."

"So let's tell her."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means yes, I am serious," Booth replied, smiling to himself at her comment.

"How can you trust me so easily? After everything that's happened?"

"Because Bones, despite everything, I know you…You are Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist. You are smart and beautiful and talented. You have an enormous capacity for love that I think even you don't fully grasp sometimes," he paused and took her face in his hands. "You are the mother of my daughter and I am in love with you. There is not a doubt in my mind that you, Temperance Brennan, are the woman that I am meant to be with. And I will do whatever it takes; I will wait for however long you need, if it means that I can be with you. If it means that you and me and Tempe can be a family."

"Booth…"

And with that he pulled her into a deep kiss. It was powerful, yet gentle.

When they finally broke apart, she whispered in his ear, "I love you too Booth…I don't think you'll have to wait much longer."


	10. Chapter 10

_Is this really happening?_ Brennan thought to herself.

"This is for real," Booth replied.

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" she said, amazed.

"I told you…I know you." He leaned in gently to kiss her again, but she cut him off.

"Booth…I want to, really, I do, more than anything, but…maybe, we should wait."

"Alright…you're probably right."

"I just…when we go there…I want to be ready. I want to be able to tell you what want to hear first."

Booth looked at her, puzzled, "What do you think I want to hear?"

"You want to know that I'm not scared. That I am certain of my choice."

"And you're not now?" He asked, pulling away slightly.

She smiled softly, "It's not what you think…I am certain that you love me…and that I love you, more than anything. I am certain that you are the only person that I could ever truly be happy with, but…I won't do anything further until I'm certain that I can't hurt you anymore."

"Why would you hurt me?"

"It wouldn't intentional of course, but…I want to be sure that I won't…run."

"Do you want to run?"

She looked him directly in the eye, "No. I don't want to run."

"Then why would you? Don't you trust me?"

"Because as much as I love you and want to be with you and Tempe, I am equally scared. I just want to be sure that I can trust myself."

"I guess I can accept that."

"Thank you Booth."

His gaze drifted from her face to the window, "It looks like it might storm pretty badly tonight. I'm going to take Benji for a walk, and then I'll be back."

"I'm going to go up to bed, I suppose."

"Okay," he grabbed the leash off of a hook and started to turn the knob of the back door, but suddenly he stopped.

He turned to face Brennan and rushed toward her, pulling her into a deep kiss. She seemed shocked by the gesture and didn't respond for several seconds. Then, as quickly as it had begun, he pulled away.

"Well…goodnight." He stuttered.

"Uh…goodnight."

- - - - - -

Ten minutes later, Brennan rolled into bed and flipped off the light on her nightstand.

"Wow." She whispered to herself. In her mind, she ran everything: their talks, their time with Tempe. The kiss.

_What I am I so afraid of?_

_I finally feel like myself again…why I am I holding back. What is this fear?_

As she pondered the answers to her seemingly impossible questions, a small stream of light appeared in the room. Brennan sat up and noticed that the door had been opened just a crack.

"Bones?" a soft voice whispered from the hallway.

"Tempe is that you?"

The little girl rushed in and quickly shut the door, running to Brennan.

"Bones, I had a bad dream…Could I…well, could I..." she suddenly seemed afraid to continue.

"Could you what sweetheart?"

"Could I sleep with you?"

"Well…are you sure that you wouldn't rather wait until your father gets home?"

"No…I want to stay with you."

"Of course you can."

With that, Tempe climbed in and cuddled up next to her mother. Brennan gently wrapped her arms around her and stroked her hair.

"Do you want to tell me about your dream?"

"Okay…well, I was in a big crowd of people, everyone was moving around me really fast…like last year, when daddy took me to a baseball game, there were so many people there…this was just like that, except I was all by myself. I kept yelling for Daddy, but he wasn't there…I tried to ask for help, but it was like no one could hear me…it doesn't sound as scary when I say it out loud, but I promise…it was really scary when I was asleep."

"I think it sounds very scary. Everyone is afraid of something."

"Even grownups?"

"Especially grownups."

"I bet daddy isn't afraid of anything…he's so big and strong, what does he have to be afraid of?"

"Well…your dad is actually afraid of clowns."

"Clowns?...I'm with him on that one. Clowns are creepy."

She chuckled lightly, "Yes they are…I think your dad is also afraid of losing the people he loves."

"Like me?"

"Exactly like you…Your daddy loves you so much, I think his heart would hurt very much if anything ever happened to you."

"I think it would if anything happened to you too."

"What makes you say that?" she said, shocked by the statement.

"Daddy doesn't have his sad eyes when you're here. I think he cares about you a lot."

"I care about him a lot as well."

"Does that mean…well, are you going to stay with us?"

"I'm already staying with you."

"No, I mean…are you going to stay with us forever?"

"I would like to, but…"

"But what?"

"Well, just like your daddy's afraid of something bad happening to the people he loves, I'm afraid of things too."

"You're afraid of us?"

"No, no…it's…it's more complicated than that."

"Well, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm not exactly sure…and that's pretty scary in itself."

"Maybe you're scared that if you stay with us, that something bad's going to happen."

"What do you mean something bad?"

"Well, last year, Aunt Becca met Uncle Tommy and they were going to get married right before Christmas, but then Uncle Tommy went away. I don't why, but when he came back everything was okay again. I asked Daddy what happened and he said that sometimes when people love each other very much they get scared that if they get too happy; God will take it all away. Maybe that's why you're scared"

"Maybe…" Brennan mumbled.

"I asked Daddy if he would ever run away if he got scared like Uncle Tommy and he told me that no matter what, even if it's only for a little while, he would want to be with the one that he loves, even if he might lose them someday...I think that makes sense. Because, if you run away…aren't you alone anyway?"


	11. Chapter 11

Booth arrived home just as the sky opened up and let down a stream of precipitation. He opened the door and Benji bolted in front of him and made his way directly to the couch.

"Well, you certainly look comfortable Benji, I'll let you get some shut eye," he said, smiling, and making his way up the stairs. He walked toward Tempe's door to check on her and was quite shocked to find her covers thrown back and her bed empty.

_Oh my God._

Sheer panic ran through his body.

_Where could she be?_

He quickly went to Brennan's door and gently pushed it open. In an instant, his fear dissipated. There, in the middle of the bed, Brennan and Tempe lay asleep and cuddled together in a little ball. Brennan had her arms wrapped protectively around Tempe, and the little girl had buried her face in her mother's chest.

_This IS really happening._

Booth stared at them for several moments before shutting the door and heading for his own room.

_We can't keep lying to her. Not anymore. _

- - - - - -

The next morning, Booth stumbled down the stairs to find Tempe parked in front of the TV, enjoying her Saturday morning cartoons.

"Hey, kiddo, how long you been up?"

"I don't know…I've only seen one other show this morning, so not very long."

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"Okay…Can we have pancakes?"

"Sure kiddo…Where's Bones?"

"She's still asleep. I didn't wanna wake her."

"Hey, how about after breakfast, the three of us do something special, like drive over to the Children's Museum or go over to that new Indoor Petting Zoo thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really, as long as it's okay with Bones."

- - - - -

At almost six o'clock exactly, Booth pulled the car back into the driveway.

"That was awesome daddy! Thank you so much for taking us to the petting zoo!"

"What was your favorite animal?"

"The llamas! Definitely the llamas!"

"The llamas are pretty awesome. What do you think Bones?"

"I think I'd have to say that funny little goat at the end that kept trying to escape through the fence."

"He was really funny! Did you see him daddy?"

"Yeah, I saw him kiddo…Hey, Tempe, why don't you go inside and play, and we'll be right behind you."

"Okay daddy!"

As soon as she reached the door, Booth turned to look at Brennan.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Because you've been awfully quiet today. Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me…I…I just realized some things last night…Thanks to Tempe."

"Tempe tends to get a little philosophical late at night," he said with a smile. "She's said some pretty interesting things when she's half asleep."

"Well, she made me realize that nothing is more important than you two…she made me remember that…it's alright to be afraid."

"Is that good?"

"I think it is…Booth, I want to tell her. I am certain this time…I know that I'm not going anywhere because no matter how scared I may be of losing you, if I run, I lose you anyway, right?...I just want to make sure, that before we do this, you're certain, because we can't take it back after this."

"I'm certain Bones…I don't ever want to live without you…Let's do this."

- - - - -

"Hey Tempe, can you come here please?" Booth called from the living room.

"How are we going to do this exactly?"

"I think we should just tell her. Straight up."

"Yeah, daddy?"

"Sweetie, come in and sit down."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, of course not…Bones and I…well…we want to talk to you about something."

"Okay," she said meekly, as she took a place on the sofa next to her father. Brennan hovered, uncertainly, in the doorway.

"Well, kiddo, what we want to talk to you about is something really big and important."

"Like when we got Benji?"

"Even bigger than that."

"Wow," she said, her eyes growing to the size of saucers.

"Do you remember on your last birthday, what you asked me?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I asked you about mommy."

"That's right. And do remember asking about your mommy before?"

"Yeah…why are you asking daddy?"

"Well, what did you remember me telling you about mommy?"

"That she couldn't be with us…because….because she wasn't ready."

"Kiddo…I think she's ready now."

"My mommy's coming to see me?" she whispered.

"She's already here."

Tempe's eyes widened, "Where is she?" But before Booth could respond, Tempe met Brennan's face.

"Mom?" She whipped her head around to Booth, waiting for him to confirm her question. He smiled deeply and nodded.

She instantly jumped up and threw her arms around Brennan.

"I dreamed of you mommy. Did you dream of me?"

"Every night sweetheart, every night."

She pulled back from her embrace, "Why didn't you tell me? You've been staying with us this whole time and you never said anything. Didn't you want me mommy?"

Brennan brushed a strand of hair from Tempe's face, "Oh sweetheart, of course I wanted you. Your daddy and I, well, we just wanted to make sure that some other things were going to work out before we told you, but I've always wanted you."

"Are you going to leave me again?"

"No Tempe. I'm never going to leave you ever again."

"I waited a really long time for you to get ready mommy."

"I know you did sweetheart…I'm so sorry I took so long…but I promise you, I'm never going to leave you again, no matter what."

Tempe put her arms around her mother and Brennan held her for several moments. Booth watched silently from across the room. He knew that to these two beautiful women, in this moment, no one else existed in the world.

"I love you so much Tempe," Brennan whispered to her daughter through a stream of blissful tears.

Tempe gently wiped away the droplets, "Don't cry mommy…I love you too."


	12. Chapter 12

A flame crackled in the fire place as Booth sat lounging in an easy chair. He held a book in his hands, but his eyes never met the page. He was locked on the beautiful vision in front of him. Tempe sat curled in Bones' lamp on the sofa. Both were fast asleep.

After several more moments of gazing, Bones began to stir but quickly stopped, realizing what she held in her arms.

"What time is it?" she inquired.

"I think you both conked out on chapter four of _The BFGs_. That was about three hours ago."

"Have you been sitting there staring the whole time?"

"Nope. I managed to get through five whole pages before I realized that watching you two was more interesting than anything in this book."

Brennan gently stroked her daughter's hair, "She's so perfect."

"She's absolutely perfect."

"She's you," Brennan mumbled, a slight smile escaping her lips.

"She may look like me on the outside…but on the inside, there, she's all you Bones."

"You say that, but I don't see it."

"You will. Just give it time," he said.

"Booth…I wish the whole world were just this room. That sounds so ridiculous and utterly impossible, but wouldn't that be lovely?"

"Nothing has to exist beyond this. It's just you and me and Tempe. Forever."

"Not forever. She'll grow up and she'll go to college, and get a job, and get married."

"I'll be here…I want to grow old with you."

A momentary pause enveloped the room. Brennan broke the silence.

"Do you want to get married?" she asked.

Booth's mouth dropped slightly in disbelief, "You want to get married?"

"I didn't say that. I asked if you wanted to get married."

"I would love to marry you…but I don't need to get married to be happy."

"Why do you think people get married? I understand the tradition of it all and I understand the history, but in today's world, why does anyone need to actually get married?"

"Well, I guess it's because it creates a bond that's truly unbreakable. That's the really beautiful thing about love. When you love someone, you are agreeing to stand by that person for the rest of your life. You're agreeing to love them no matter what, good hair day or bad hair day, no matter what. Getting married is just a way of sharing that with everyone. It's a way of saying I love this person more than anything and I'm going to keep loving them forever."

"If marriage is truly unbreakable people would be together forever. There would be no divorce or heartbreak or pain."

"Not everyone is meant to get married or be together. When it's right, it works."

"How do you know if it's right?"

"I don't think there's a sure fire way. People say that you just instantly know, like there's some magic shock that tells you this person is the one, but I don't think I really believe that. I think that you just find someone who gets you, someone who accepts you for exactly the person that you are. If they've seen you at your best as well as your worst, and they still love you and they still want to be with you, well, I don't think you get much more "right" than that."

"I never wanted to get married."

"I know. You told me that a long time ago."

"What if I changed my mind?"

"Are you changing your mind?"

"I am…I know I'm not much of a traditionalist, but I believe that the male in the relationship is supposed to actually pose the question in an official capacity."

Booth looked into her eyes, stood up and walked over to the coffee table directly in front of the sofa. He sat down gently on the table top and reached out for Brennan's left hand, her right still clutching her daughter to her chest.

"Since you came here, sometimes, I wake up a little early before you get up, and I stand in your door way and watch you sleep. And every morning, I wonder how I could ever be lucky enough to have you in my life. You have changed me in so many wonderful ways and all I want to do is spend every moment of our life together trying to make you as happy as you make me…Will you marry me Temperance Brennan?"

"I wasn't expecting you to ask right away but since you have, I would like to say something before I give an answer."

Booth smiled, "Anything."

"I want you to know that your proposal was wonderful, but you've made some critical errors."

"And what are they exactly?"

"You've never gotten up before me."

"You knew I was standing there?"

"Always," she whispered, a smile emerging on her face.

"And you're not lucky Seeley Booth. You and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"And how do you think that happened?" he asked, grinning.

"It was a happy accident. Science is full of happy accidents. Why can't love be filled with them as well?"

He stood up slowly, and leaned over to meet her eyes. "You say happy accident. I say luck."

And with that, he kissed her softly on the lips, lingering for only an instant. He picked up Tempe from her arms and began to carry her up the stairs.

"Seeley?"

He turned to her carefully, not wanting to jostle his daughter awake. "Yeah Bones?"

"I'm keeping my name."


End file.
